Superglue #1

Superglue #1

What’s one of the greatest yet hardest things in the world?

What’s one of the most joyful but sometimes most frustrating thing you’ll ever do?

What can give you exhilaration one day and wear you out the next?

Does anyone think they know what I’m talking about?

[2] Marriage, yes marriage. It could be the greatest relationship with another human being you’ll ever have – but it could also be the hardest.

Most people in this room have either been married, are married, or are going to be married some time in the future. It’s something that’s a part of the fabric of our society. But the fabric is tearing isn’t it!

More than half of the marriages in our country end up in divorce – and it’s no different in the church. It shouldn’t be like that! Listen to how the institution of marriage all got started some five thousand years ago.

[Read Genesis 20:20-25 and Mark 10:1-9.]

Now before we go any further let’s talk a little bit about divorce. God never intended for us to get divorced from our spouses. But there are some circumstances, outlined in the Bible, that do allow for it.

If your spouse is an unbeliever and leaves you, you aren’t bound to them any more.

If your spouse commits adultery, and you just can’t bring yourself to accept them any more, you aren’t bound to them any more.

If your spouse is endangering you or your kids, it’s time to go!

But those are extreme exceptions to the rule. God wants us to do everything in our power and in His power to stay married until one of you die. Marriage is supposed to be a permanent, heterosexual, monogamous relationship. It could be the best, earthly relationship you ever experience.

But so many of these relationships start out great and head downhill once the honeymoon is over. Millions of couples split up every day and its ripping apart the culture and the families represented.

You see, when God designed male and female, He created them as physical, emotional and spiritual beings. He created us in a way that we would fit perfectly together. And once the bond was made, it would cause the two persons to now function as one.

[Superglue illustration.]

All of us want a marriage like this. We all want to be so knit together it’s like our hearts are joined by superglue.

Now for our marriages to be bonded together like this, there are many different things that can help. Understanding each other, forgiveness, understanding our roles as men and women, forgiveness, purity, forgiveness, discipline, forgiveness, prayer, forgiveness, and did I remember to mention forgiveness?

But over the next couple weeks I want to focus on a couple of crucially important factors that can help our marriages be bonded like superglue – [3] commitment and communication. If we are totally committed and if we really communicate our marriages will be what God wants them to be.

Let’s talk about commitment. [4] Now we’ve all heard the traditional wedding vows of commitment right? They usually go something like this:

Betty Sue, do you take Junior to be your wedded husband? Do you solemnly promise before God and all these witnesses to love, honor, comfort and keep him forsaking all others for him alone? Will you perform for him all the duties a woman owes her husband as long as you both shall live? (I do.)

But what if we threw a little reality into the vows?

Betty Sue, do you take Junior to be your wedded husband? Do you solemnly promise before God and all these witnesses to love, honor, comfort and keep him forsaking all others for him alone? Will you still love him when he goes bald, is grumpy and his deodorant wears off? Will you perform for him all the duties a woman owes her husband even when he loses his job, you have to move in with your in-laws, you have no money, he likes his mom’s cooking better than yours and would rather go golfing than spend time with you? For the next 50 years?! (Huh, can I have a moment?)

Now that kind of marriage takes some commitment. But really, all marriages, if they want to be permanent like superglue, need commitment.

Do you know where real commitment comes from? True love. [5]

[Read I Corinthians 13:1-6.]

Those first six verses show us the importance of love and what real love is really

like. But the next verse shows us that true love is all about commitment.

[Read I Corinthians 13:7.] [6]

I. Superglue love always protects

‘Stego’ – to cover, to shelter, to protect

[Lisette and umbrella in the storm story.]

If we are going to really love our spouses we need to be committed to protecting them no matter the cost. Now this is more than just a macho thing; women can protect their husbands just like men can protect their wives.